[TemporalCalamity]

Hi,
I am a 16 year old male and I am going through some rough stuff, especially after some traumatic experiences in the past year.

I went to my doctor because I have been deressed on and of for the past 3 years, but it gt increasingly bad about 2 months ago. He put me on Zoloft 50mg,although I am now on 100mg, and I have been regularily seeing a councillor.

I have read about the side effect of Zoloft, and wonder if it is worth it. My girlfriend, who also suffers from depression(but uses alternate medicine) dislikes my taking of the Zoloft, and see's it as 'pumping chemicals into your body' and 'a miod altering drug, just like marijuana'. I see where she is coming from.

I now believe that I am Manic Depressive, although I do not know a great deal about this. I believe this due to my extreme highs and lows, the lows in which I suffer panic attacks and indulge in self harm. As the Zoloft so far have not worked, I am wondering if they have a postive effect on Manic Depressive people.

As for physical symptoms, they have not improved at all. I suffer from insomnia, extreme tiredness, moodiness, no sexual desire, dry mouth, headaches, nausea, and no appetite, when I eat food I need to vomit. I had all of these symptoms before I went on the Zoloft but have read that Zoloft can cause these as side effects.

I am beginning to believe that I am anorexic. Originally I just saw my not wanting to eat as part of the depression, but I really do not know, it seems obvious that they would be linked, but perhaps not caused by each other.

I have been overweight for about 4 years, and suffered from gynocomastia, although it was not bad enough that it couldn't be covered up with a muscle shirt underneath all I wear. I became very self-conscious, and caused myself to vomit and crash diet a few times over the past few years, but in the past four months it has grown serious. In September, I weighed 88kg, and now I weigh 72. I haven't eaten any more than one meal a day for two months, and occasionally have gone for whole weekends without eating. I do not eat and then vomit. I do not starve myself because I am afraid of gaining weight, I simply do it because my body refuses to eat, and I have thoughts in the back of my mind saying "Since I am depressed and have no appetite, I'll eat nothing and then lose weight". People tell me I have a good body sometimes, but I still get ripped off about my 'manboobs' by friends, which I feel terrible about, and don't want to have my shirt off around anyone. I don't think I am 'fat' but I know I don't look right.

Do I have anorexia?

[CamW]

TC - I cannot diagnose your condition, but I can tell you about the Zoloft™ (sertraline). The side effects that you mention (headache, nausea, tiredness, and insomnia) are usually start-up side effects of Zoloft, and usually begin to go away within a month of starting the antidepressant. Unfortunately, the decrease in sexual desire and function are often long term side effects of Zoloft. The side effects that you mention could be a result of your depression, rather than the medication.

Zoloft is not addictive, nor should it be looked at as "pumping chemicals into your body". Zoloft works at the ends certain nerve cells (serotonergic axon terminals) to increase the efficiency of the electrical transmission between nerve cells containing serotonin. Depression is thought to be a breakdown of the body's response system to stress. One of the results of this breakdown is a decrease in the efficiency of passing information (in the form of electrical signals) between cetain nerve cells. These particular nerve cells use a natural body chemical (serotonin, one of 100s of neurotransmitters in the brain) to carry the electrical signal from one nerve cell to the next. In depression, the amount of serotonin produced by these cells is decreased and this results in the array of symptoms we call depression. What Zoloft does is raises the levels of serotonin between nerve cells by not allowing the nerve cell that released the serotonin to reabsorb it as readily as it would normally. In scientific lingo, it is said that Zoloft "blocks the reuptake of serotonin"; and since Zoloft is selective for blocking serotonin reuptake, it is called an SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor). By artificially blocking serotonin reuptake, the amount of serotonin between two serotonergic nerve cells is increased and thus electrical transmission from one nerve cell to the next is enhanced. This results in the reversal of depressive symptoms and forces the body to produce more serotonin. It is hoped that by forcing the body to produce new serotonin that, in time, the body will "relearn" to produce sufficient serotonin on it's own, and the Zoloft can then be stopped.

You mentioned that you have gynecomastia. Has any doctor told you why this has happened to you? Gynecomastia is usually a result of the body producing too much of a substance called prolactin, which is an important chemical in the body's endocrine system. Secretions (including prolactin) from various endocrine glands affect various processes in the body, such as metabolism, growth, and secretions from other organs. When too much prolactin is produced, it is said that there is a malfunction (dysregulation) of a certain endocrine system. Depression can be a secondary effect of (or a result of) such a dysregulation. Has your doctor looked into the possibility of too much prolactin causing your depression?

I hope that this makes some sense. - Cam

[curlyq]

Hi and welcome. I don't know how long you have been on Zoloft but I've been on it for almost 6 weeks and have the same side effects you mentioned. I am also very nervous and wake at the drop of a pin. Yesterday I almost vomited after I ate, too. I agree that an antidepressant is not a mind altering drug. It is supposed to just correct the symptoms but they often have side effects. I have experienced many antidepressants and sometimes the side effects went away and sometimes they did not. I went off of the ones that did not go away and usually gave them several months unless they were totally unbearable. I took some for years and they just quit on me! I have started today to divide the 50 mg. Zoloft in half and will take the other half at night and see if that helps. I am going to give the drug some more time (maybe 2 more weeks) before I ask my doctor to take me off of it. At this point though, I don't like it because I am tired all the time and have anxiety attacks much more than usual. I have been taking a tranquilizer to help me out. So, I plan on waiting about 2 more weeks to see if these bad effects go away. I increased to 50 2 weeks ago so that's why I'm giving it more time. I know what you are going through with this drug and think you need to discuss the effects with your doctor, too, and ask him if they will go away and when. He possibly could prescribe something to counteract the effects, too. If you've taken it for quite awhile (2-3 mos) I would definitely contact your doctor about it. There's no need to suffer more than you already are. I have not had very good luck with psychotropic drugs, sorry to say. I am still open to finding somthing that may work, though. For physiological reasons I cannot take higher doses, too, so that has something to do with my not responding well and ultimately my feelings about taking the drugs. My system seems to be very sensitive to side effects, too. I have had some relief at times from these drugs, though, but not long term (meaning over a few years).

A good psychiatrist can give you a proper evaluation and diagnosis. There are drugs for Bipolar, too, that may help you.

In a sense I, too, would rather be off of the medicines and may end up doing that for awhile-not sure yet. I have chronic PTSD and Major Depression but I have done okay off of the drugs at times, too. Therapy and learning alternate ways to deal with symptoms and coping skills help greatly when one practices them regularly. Doing things like progressive relaxation, thought monitoring, etc. You, too, can learn these techniques from a good therapist. Support groups for people with Manic and regular depression might be a good thing for you and your girlfriend. There are ones for types of depression and you can look into it.

As for the eating problem, I have a problem there too and in general I just try to practice better nutrition. There is help for what you are going through with food, too. There are therapists who specialize in eating disorders, if that is what you have.

What has also helped me is doing reading on the various conditions I have. I have been through therapies, medicines, support groups, much coursework, seeing a dietician, lots of reading on relevent topics and books, and continuing to talk about what's going on with me with someone. All of those things help.

I know I rambled on but I guess I needed to get it out, too.

I just want to say there is hope to feel better. You see, I keep telling myself that. I hope you'll hang in there and things can improve for you. Take care.....

<font color=red>HAPPY</font color=red> <font color=green>HOLIDAYS!</font color=green>

[splash]

hi TemporalCalamity,

first, i'd just like to say that you sound like a very together 16 year old young man. whether you feel that way or not, you do come across in your post as very intelligent and thoughtful.

you share a lot of concerns in your post. i guess my concern for you is that you are taken care of by appropriate medical and mental health professionals.

my family doctor, who is highly respected by colleagues and patients, is very knowlegeable in many areas of medicine, but he always refers me to specialists who are more knowlegeable in their area of expertise. he refers me to a dermatologist when i have skin issues (i still have problem "teenage" skin, so i can commiserate with others on that issue). while he is able to prescribe psychiatric meds, he prefers that i see a psychiatrist. and my psychiatrist prefers to treat me while i see a therapist, so i do that, too. i guess my point here is to make sure that all your concerns are addressed, and that may take seeing more than just your doctor.

when i was on zoloft, i got manic. i have to be careful on antidepressants because of this problem. zoloft, and other antidepressants, can cause all kinds of side effects that may differ from person to person. side effects are sometimes temporary while the body gets used to the medicine, but anything that lingers, or bothers you, should be brought to the doctor's attention. at least, that's what i do.

about 15 years ago, i was anorexic. my lowest weight was around 39.5 kilograms (87 pounds). at 5 feet 4 inches tall, that was not enough for me to be physically healthy. (how i turned around and began eating again is an extremely long story, and i'm not even sure how it started.) whether 72 kilograms (158 pounds) is an appropriate weight for you to be at is hard to say without knowing your height. but if it bothers you, and you recognize it to be a potential problem, then i would say it's worth checking out. what does your doctor say of your concerns?

i hope you will post again and let us know how you are doing.

take care,

splash

[seasiren20]

Hey~~
Ya, know. I'm not really sure. Some signs of anorexia nervosa are depression. Not eating. Dizziness, fatigue, stuff like that. I am anorexic, and I'm happy about. Basically, in my opinion, you are not very confident in yourself. It sounds like you may, but I'm no expert. Sorry, if I can't help you. If you are really concerned about it, go see a different doctor. Not permenantly, just to get another opinion. l

[kitty]

I am not a dr, but it seems to me your problem stems from the gynocomastia. I do not know a lot about that, but I agree that you should probably see a specialist to see if any hormones would help, if exercise would help or if surgery would be appropriate. It is hard enough being 16, when you don't feel good about your body it makes it much harder. I have always had a self-image problem myself and have felt fat no matter how thin I was. I also agree that you do seem very mature and together. I hope you find some help.